1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatic teller machines which are used by members of the public in order to execute a wide variety of financial transactions at convenient locations and at any time of day. More specifically this invention relates to teller machines to be installed adjacent to driveways at financial institutions and operated from a car window. Such machines are designed to receive cash and checks, often contained within a deposit envelope and to issue money to the machine user. Inasmuch as these machines are unattended, their reliability of operation is important. Likewise the money to be issued or the money being deposited must be protected in a secure enclosure of some type.
2. Prior Art
In the prior art such machines are designed so that the envelope being deposited and the money being issued travel in the most direct path in order to achieve a high reliability of operation. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,980 the slot into the deposit container is parallel to the opening in the teller machine user panel through which the user makes a deposit, allowing the deposited envelope to travel in a straight line without constricting corners or bends. Such design results in a machine which is relatively deep from front to back. The cash issuing mechanism usually operates in a like manner but in reverse, transporting money from a money container area to the user.
In teller machines mounted through a building wall or in the lobby of a financial institution, such depth is not necessarily objectionable. However, when the machine is to be mounted on an island between two drive up traffic lanes, the existing architectural designs of financial institutions places a constraint on the depth which the machine may have.